OLD Media Moves

Jon Friedman's Hot and Not for 2006

January 4, 2006

Jon Friedman writes the media column for Marketwatch.com. He’s a former Bloomberg and BusinessWeek reporter. His recent column on what’s In and Out for 2006 includes this:

Who’s in: Fox Business Channel

Who’s out: CNBC

It’s not exactly front-page news any more to say that Fox is moving forward with a plan to create a rival to CNBC. Rather than wilt in the heat, CNBC has (finally!) tinkered with its lineup and presentation in an effort to look brand new. It’s admirable but it may be too little too late if it eventually has to fend off Fox. If history is any guide, Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who ran CNBC in its heyday, will steamroll his foe. I doubt that Fox’s new business channel will achieve a first-round knockout, but CNBC had better beware. Ailes will scratch and claw to gain an advantage and he isn’t above (or below) fighting dirty. The man just wants to win. And he almost always does.

Read the entire posting here.

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